Will media chase this scandal?

Obama's silence compounds outrage over 'Fast and Furious'

The “Fast and Furious” debacle already was a major scandal. Federal agents purposely allowed high-powered weapons to make it into the hands of murderous Mexican drug cartels – and one of the guns from the bungled operation apparently was responsible for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

But the Obama administration has doubled the scandal with what appears to be a tenacious cover-up: Attorney General Eric Holder’s Justice Department has been so uncooperative in getting to the bottom of the scandal – most recently refusing to release documents that have long been subpoenaed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee – that the committee was forced to hold him in contempt.

The full House of Representatives is set to vote on the contempt finding next week.

It may not yet be “Obama’s Watergate,” as historian Tim Stanley says it might in The Telegraph of London. Then again, it may arguably be worse: As Stanley notes, “no one actually got killed during Watergate.”

The other major difference in the scandals: Watergate involved a Republican president. We’ll see whether there’s a Woodward and Bernstein this time around who care enough to dog a Democratic one.

For what it’s worth, the early indications aren’t promising: The mainstream media mostly downplayed or ignored this roiling scandal until the contempt vote Wednesday. And even then, ABC’s evening newscast led with the weather.

Yawns aren’t in order, folks. A good man is dead, his family has no answers, and the White House that could provide those answers is defying even a contempt order by the House in order to keep a lid on those answers.

The questions must be answered: Who ordered this operation? Why has no one been held accountable? How high up in the administration does the responsibility lie?

And, most important: What are they hiding? What could be so damaging that the administration would rather face a contempt action than release the documents?

Remember: As commentator Charles Krauthammer noted Wednesday, this is the same administration that leaked highly sensitive information about covert operations in Iran and Yemen. Now, all of a sudden, when a U.S. Border Patrol agent lies dead, they actually want to keep a secret?

And didn’t this president promise the most transparent administration in history?

Just as outrageous, when the scandal first broke early last year with the help of whistleblowers in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Holder’s department denied in a Feb. 4, 2011, letter that the program ever existed. But evidence later indicated senior DOJ officials knew about Fast and Furious before the February 2011 letter. Holder’s department didn’t retract that falsehood until December 2011.

Holder himself has been caught red-handed. He told Congress in sworn testimony in May 2011 that he only learned of Fast and Furious in the prior few weeks – but internal Justice Department documents show he was informed as early as September 2010.

It’s not just Congress that the administration is showing contempt for. It’s also the family of fallen agent Terry.

“Our son lost his life protecting this nation,” the family said in a statement Wednesday, “and it is very disappointing that we are now faced with an administration that seems more concerned with protecting themselves rather than revealing the truth behind Operation Fast and Furious.”

President Obama invoked executive privilege to keep the documents hidden, which is interesting – not just because of the other leaks that have emanated from the White House recently, but because the documents in question may have more to do with the cover-up of Fast and Furious than the operation itself. It’s a very questionable use of the privilege power – even “Nixonian,” as some have said.

The question is, will the media be as curious about this president’s scandal?

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It was the atm's fault no wait it was the tsunami's fault no wait it was the American people's fault NO IT IS BUSH'S fault! it was japan's fault i had NO KNOWLEDGE OF ANYTHING! i NOR anyone in my admin. knew anything about anything. so let it be written,so let it be done!

Obama is morphing into something scary. He previously said he couldn’t simply snap his fingers and nullify immigration law, even a bad one.

“I know some people want me to bypass Congress and change the laws on my own,” he told the National Council of La Raza a year ago. “That’s not how our democracy functions. That’s not how our Constitution is written.”

He previously said he couldn’t simply snap his fingers and nullify immigration law, even a bad one.
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Yet another incorrect statement. I'll repeat a post from yesterday:
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Let's play Guess Who The Liar Is.

Hannity tape on Fox:

President Obama: "There's been a great disservice done to the cause of getting the Dream Act passed, and getting comprehensive immigration passed, by perpetrating the notion that by myself, I can go and do these things. It's just not true."

Actual full text of statement:

President Obama: "There's been a great disservice done to the cause of getting the Dream Act passed, and getting comprehensive immigration passed, by perpetrating the notion that by myself, I can go and do these things. It's just not true. Now what we can do is prioritize enforcement, since there's limited enforcement resources, and say, 'We're not going to go chasing after this young man or anybody else who has been acting responsibly and would otherwise qualify for legal status of the Dream act passed.'"

The response to the statement "perhaps if obumler explained why one year he could not do it and now he can" is that he DID explain it, and then did exactly what he explained he could do.

Then somebody in the media lied to your face about what Obama said.
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Obama gives his opponents SO much to work with, if they could just keep a level head and stick to the facts. The repeated and constant inability to do so drills into voters' heads the idea that Obama's opposition A) can't keep a level head, and B) can't help but manipulate the facts.

Obama would be so Jimmy Carter if his opposition could only stop being so Leftwing circa 2004. As it is, this is starting to appear uncannily like the backlash against the Looney Left and their helmet-hair Kerrey, when facing the not-so-popular W.

It's killed any spirit I had to involve myself with elections and political debate. Not that it's of any importance here.

To answer another commenter though, my curiosity was enough for many years. I questioned and railed on a few occasions even. Chartered a social group based on Objectionism while at ASU. Now everyone is just ballyhooing between each other until one gets bored with their opponent (or quieted). Then they move on to try and agitate someone else in hopes of getting that rush of making a point.

Now I focus on positive action and law of attraction to inject my agenda.

Burn, you have to know that it really is not about what he says. It is what he means. You have know, given what we do know he has said, Obama would grant amnesty to all illegals if he could.

One thing you have to give Bush and Congress credit for. When Washington was flooded with demands not to grant amnesty, they listened, which is probably why we got the "we have to pass the bill to find out what is in it."

Sometimes I think Obama is smarter than I appreciate-he is a constitutional lawyer and authority to some degree, because (like Lincoln his hero) he is pushin' executive authority and I believe he wants the Supreme Court in on the action so he can blame the Judicial branch. He has scorned the high court so I think he is forcing constitutional issues so either he has his way if the court rules so and if not then he can demonize them. It's a win win strategy.

Bush was almost neutered for his immigration reform suggestions-by his own party no less. Seems both parties turn a blind eye for different reasons-Dems votes and Rep cheap labor. Neither want to really do anything-although Rep sure have been randy about it of late. As I recollect, almost all the polls indicate the majority of Americans want a regulated border and to enforce federal immigration laws-as a matter of principal, although I believe there is a majority up for change too. What really bothers me is the principal of a lot of people sittin' in the federal pen for breakin' federal laws and yet we discriminate for a particular ethnicity and they get a free pass-seems we should just open al the cells and let em go in "fairness" LOL. Would all illegal immigrants minors qualify for Obama's plan or only hispanic or mexican specifically??

Hannity reminds me of Herman Munster. Kinda got that square head, and definitely should be electrodes pokin' outta his neck. I liked him better when Colmes would banter against him. His head seems bigger and he won't shut up now his has his own show-which is just plain propaganda. Im surprised some guest hasn't grabbed that football he throws around and smacked em with a fast ball. I'd love to see the look.

Burn, notice where the quote is in my copied response from above. The finger snapping part is not quoted, however many papers used that term describing his earlier statement. If anything I wasn't very original with my remark. Some of them liberal papers. My original post with quotes:

Obama is morphing into something scary. He previously said he couldn’t simply snap his fingers and nullify immigration law, even a bad one.

“I know some people want me to bypass Congress and change the laws on my own,” he told the National Council of La Raza a year ago. “That’s not how our democracy functions. That’s not how our Constitution is written.”

Well, since we are going to lower the conversation with these base remarks about Hannity. I have a million of these saved up about Al Sharpton, Matthews and Maddow that I could use, but will refrain from doing. The Last Word guy I'll give a break. He admits he's a socialist.

If anything, "fast and furious" represents the imposition of political belief as an actual policy option. Liberals like PBO long-held that much of the violence in Mexico was aided and abetted by profiteering white gun merchants in the United States; and that the "drug demand" of wealthy gringos drove the carnage. In a rather bizarre policy option, the White House and FBI apparently reincarnated their "worst nightmare" and indeed got the results they intended! NOW, they have been found out! (This revelation was NEVER supposed to leak out! It was, indeed, "Executive Privilege" all along!)

These guys have an apparently insatiable interest in blaming everything wrong on the planet on the successful, the wealthy or the white. Whats it that Obama said? "A world in need, thrall to the white man's greed?!"

Here is theory that some Congressional Republicans believe: The Obama Administration intentionally handed over automatic weapons to Mexican drug cartels, who they knew would commit violent acts, because they wanted to scare Americans into supporting stricter gun laws.
Issa said, “very clearly, they made a crisis, and they’re using this crisis to somehow take away or limit people’s Second Amendment rights.”

"No more made up things like, Obama is a socialist, Muslim, and other things. This is real, something we can sink our teeth into. Focus on this."

I've said it time and again; forget about birth certificates, past associates, etc. Harping on those looks like a witch hunt, when there is a universe of facts illustrating the incompetence of Obama and his administration. Add to incompetence, criminal behavior and cover-up now.

So ultra, if Issa is wrong, then you admit that the clowns in this administration aren't as good as the ones under Bush at pulling off this type of operation. Just how do you explain how this went so wrong? And can you explain Holder's varying answers under oath?

KSL- This also demonstrates how inept the Obama administration is. Obama now has to explain what documents and why he is claiming executive privilege. I think Obama is hoping that he can bury this and it will go away as it winds its way through the courts until he is reelected. We will see if the lame stream media will cooperate. However now Obama is in this up to his eyeballs, where as, unless he is guilty and involved in the program, he could have let Holder fall on the Sword! It seems like more and more things are coming unglued for Obama demonstrating his lack of executive experience.

U nglued might we be in for deep trouble. My spouse, the optimist has great faith in the American people to say "when." Spouse's experience is with paying clients. I have experience with those on the receiving end. I hold no such optimism.